Pursuant to authority of N.C.G.S. § 7A-34, the General Rules of Practice for the
Superior and District Courts are amended by the deletion of the current subsection (b) to
Rule 5 and the adoption of a new subsection (b) to Rule 5 to read as follows:

5. Form of Pleadings

(b) All papers filed in civil actions, special proceedings and estates shall include as
the first page of the filing a cover sheet summarizing the critical elements of the filing
in a format prescribed by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The Clerk of Superior
Court shall not reject the filing of any paper that does not include the required cover
sheet. Instead, the clerk shall file the paper, notify the filing party of the omission
and grant the filing party a reasonable time not to exceed five (5) days within which to
file the required cover sheet. Until such time as the party files the required cover
sheet, the court shall take no further action other than dismissal in the case.

Adopted by the Court in Conference this 25thday of June, 1997. The
amendment shall be effective 1 August 1997 and shall be promulgated by publication in the
Advance Sheets of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals and by distribution by mail
to each superior court judge in the State.